Spc-William-Sturges-Hero

Sturges

By Rob Amen

VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

After six years, memories fade and students come and go. But administrators at two schools in Armstrong County remember Army Spc. William R. Sturges Jr. for his warm smile and welcoming personality.

Sturges, 24, of South Bend, was one of three American soldiers killed when a car bomb detonated Saturday in Khalidiyah, Iraq.

Six other soldiers were wounded in the attack in which a vehicle, possibly driven by a suicide bomber, exploded at a checkpoint near a bridge across the Euphrates River, the U.S. command said.

Sturges' death comes about nine months after another Armstrong County soldier, Staff Sgt. Stevon Booker of Apollo, was killed by enemy fire near Baghdad.

Medic returns to bury GI spouse

Armstrong County soldier was among three U.S. infantrymen killed in blast

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

By Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

An Armstrong County soldier serving in Iraq at the same time as his wife, was among three infantrymen killed when a truck bomb struck their Humvee near the Iraqi city of Khalidiyah on Saturday.

Spc. William R. Sturges Jr., 24, of Spring City, a village near the Armstrong County town of Apollo, was one of three servicemen who died in the massive explosion at a checkpoint.

Yesterday, an hour after the Department of Defense identified the soldiers killed in the attack, Linda Sturges was en route to the airport to pick up her son's widow, who had just flown from Iraq.

"She was over there, too. She's in the Army also," Mrs. Sturges said.

Spc. Deida Sturges was assigned as an Army medic with the 21st Combat Support Hospital in Iraq at the time her husband was killed.

Deida Sturges, whose unit was scheduled to return this week, was rushed home last night to plan her husband's funeral and to rejoin their 16-month-old son, Gabriel, who was being cared for by relatives while the couple served in the war zone.

She said she last heard from her husband a week ago, by e-mail.

"We were talking about our re-enlistment, where we wanted to go. He said he loved me and 'talk to you later,' " Deida Sturges said. On Sunday, she said, she was awakened by Army officers who informed her of her husband's death.

The couple both attended Lenape Vocational Technical School in Armstrong County and married in August 2000.

Deida had joined the Army earlier.

"He was in the National Guard already. I always wanted to be in the Army since I was younger. I asked him if it was all right and he said yeah," Deida Sturges said. Her husband then transferred from the National Guard into the full-time army and the couple settled in Fort Hood, Texas, before they were deployed separately to Iraq.

"Both of them went. They have a little baby a little over a year old. We've been watching him," said Robert Anderson, William Sturges' grandfather.

In addition to Gabriel, Sturges also has a 4-year-old son by an earlier union, his mother said.

A spokesman at Fort Hood yesterday said Army regulations allow both parents to be stationed overseas simultaneously if they have a child-care plan.

Also killed in the bombing were Spc. Jason K. Chappell, 22, of Hemet, Calif., and Sgt. Randy S. Rosenberg, 23, of Berlin, N.H.

The men were part of Task Force "All American," and assigned to Company B, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry in Fort Hood, Texas.

Six other soldiers were wounded in the incident when an explosive-laden SUV, possibly driven by a suicide bomber, detonated at a checkpoint near the Euphrates River. Witnesses said soldiers attempted to block the oncoming vehicle with an Army Humvee when it went off.

It was the second bombing of the day.

Earlier Saturday, two U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb that hit a four-truck convoy near Fallujah.

Linda Sturges last night said she believed her son joined the Army out of altruism.

"I know Bill was always one to protect people. He was always a very caring person," she said

PA Soldier Killed in Checkpoint Attack

Jan 28, 2004 9:38 am US/Eastern

Pittsburgh (AP) A soldier whose wife is an Army medic was among three killed when a car bomb exploded at a U.S. checkpoint west of Baghdad this weekend.

Spc. William R. Sturges Jr., 24, of Spring City, died in the explosion, which happened near a bridge on the Euphrates River in Khaldiyah, the U.S. command said.

Sturges, an indirect fire infantryman with the 1st Cavalry Division's Company B, 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, was serving in Iraq at the same time as his wife, Spc. Deida Sturges, an Army medic with the 21st Combat Support Hospital.

Deida Sturges, whose unit was scheduled to return this week,

said she last heard from her husband a week ago in an e-mail.

In the e-mail, he asked her about where they should go when they re-enlisted, Deida Sturges told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "He said he loved me and talk to you later," Deida Sturges told the newspaper in a story published Wednesday.

The couple met at a vocational school in Armstrong County, about 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, and married in 2000. They have a 16-month-old son and William Sturges also has a 4-year-old son.

Deida Sturges was already in the Army, while William Sturges transferred from the National Guard into the Army. His mother, Linda Sturges, said her son likely joined the military because of his selflessness.

"I know Bill was always one to protect people. He was always a caring person," she said.

The couple arrived at Fort Hood, Texas, in June 2003 and were deployed separately to Iraq.

Deida Sturges, whose unit was expected to return this week, was returning to western Pennsylvania to plan her husband's funeral and to rejoin their son, Gabriel, who was being cared for by relatives.

Also killed in the explosion were:

Spc. Jason K. Chappell, 22, a native of San Dimas, Calif., wholisted Hemet, Calif., as his home. The infantryman entered the Army in July 2001 and had been assigned to Fort Hood since Feb. 19, 2002.

Sgt. Randy S. Rosenberg, 23, also an infantryman, was born in Berlin, N.H. Rosenberg entered the Army in September 1998 and had been assigned to Fort Hood since March 1999.

Six other soldiers were wounded in the incident, in which a vehicle, possibly driven by a suicide bomber, exploded at a checkpoint near a bridge across the Euphrates river in Khaldiyah, the U.S. command said.

Iraqi witnesses said a four-wheel-drive vehicle drove up to the checkpoint and exploded in front of a U.S. Army Humvee trying to block it. Several Iraqis also were injured.

Earlier the same day, two other U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb that struck their four-vehicle convoy north of Fallujah, a Sunni Muslim city near Khaldiyah in a center of anti-American resistance.